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“Wanna start a tab?” Walker asks as he passes over the martini.
“Sure,” I tell him. “I’ll switch to easier drinks if we get Hailey as a waitress.”
He frowns, the diet soda handed over next. “I had to fire her.”
I scrunch my nose. That’s never an easy thing to deal with.
“I hated to do it, but she was costing me more in glassware every night than she was making. It wasn’t sustainable. Have a good night,” he rushes out as he turns to help another person.
I give him a quick wave before going to find Adalynn.
“Because it’s mine,” I hear my friend telling the group of people sitting at the table.
“There were no reservations on it,” one of the girls argues.
“That doesn’t matter,” Adalynn continues.
I nudge her arm, handing over her soda when she looks at me.
“We can find another seat,” I tell her. “It’s no big deal.”
“This is the only seat here that gives a direct line of sight to the door,” she argues before turning back toward the group.
“That’s my seat.”
I whip my head around toward the tall mountain of a man who just walked up, and then grin when his shadow appears only a second behind him.
I’ve always had a hard time determining which was Ronnie and which was Donnie. I know Ronnie has a scar on his back from falling off a dirt bike when he was a kid, but when they’re not shirtless at the pool, I find it impossible to know which is which.
“We got here first,” one of the girls argues, but the guy sitting beside her places a hand on her arm to silence her.
“It’s fine,” he says, standing from the seat.
The girl frowns, but she doesn’t argue with him, and the others at the table are quick to stand and scatter.
They have no clue that Ronnie and Donnie are giant cinnamon rolls. Their bearded faces and the sheer size of these men are intimidating. If I didn’t grow up with them, I’d probably scuttle away as well.
“Thank you,” Adalynn says, but the guys simply nod and turn their attention to me.
I grin at the guys, remembering the old crush I had on Donnie when I was a sophomore in high school. The twins had already graduated, but they came back home often. The house they moved into didn’t have a pool, but their mom’s house did. Plus, they were two young bachelors. I swear they could smell their mom’s cooking from across town. It annoyed Adalynn to no end, but I kind of enjoyed the attention. It wasn’t creepy, and it never crossed any lines. But Donnie was extra sweet to me one day, helping me fix the chain on my bicycle, and it started a mild little infatuation with him. Like any other girl, I had lots of crushes in junior high and high school.
“Madison Kelly,” one of them says.
I dart my eyes to Adalynn who points to the one who spoke and mouthsRonnie.
I grin at the old game my best friend and I used to play. I was upset one day and told her I felt so bad about not being able to tell them apart, and they do nothing to make it easier for anyone. Just like back then, they’re wearing practically the same damn shirt, and anyone would get easily confused if they weren’t paying them all of their attention.
Ronnie catches the glance to my friend, and like he always did when he caught us when he was younger, he calls me out on it.
“Still can’t tell us apart?” he asks, but there’s no irritation in his tone. “Give me a hug.”
Before I can open my arms, Donnie wraps himself around me from behind as his brother closes in from the front.
I’m the middle of a Tate brother sandwich, and I have to say, with the scent of their intoxicating cologne, it isn’t the worst place in the world to be.
“You never could tell us apart,” Donnie says, his chin on my shoulder which has to be an incredibly awkward position for him considering our size difference.
“We could take our clothes off,” Ronnie whispers, his warm breath on my ear. “You’d be able to tell us apart then.”
